308 Winchester Ammo

The .308 Winchester is a great hunting round and is suitable for most North American game from deer to bear. It is also used in military, law enforcement and long range target shooting applications with great success.

The .308 Winchester was introduced in 1952 in the iconic Winchester Model 70 bolt action rifle. This cartridge was based on the 7.62x51mm NATO, but was released to the public two years before NATO adopted the 7.62x51mm. There is a common misconception that the 7.62x51mm and the .308 Winchester are interchangeable. This is not true, the modern .308 Winchester is loaded to higher pressures than the military 7.62x51mm and .308 Winchester ammunition should not be used in firearms chambered for the 7.62x51mm.

The .308 Winchester was designed as a hunting cartridge. It is capable of taking most all North American game and a large portion of African game. This is due to the efficient way that the bullet delivers hydrostatic shock in to the target. This is particularly prevalent when using expanding bullets, such as the Nosler Partition or the Sellier and Bellot Exergy high performance hunting bullets. The .308 Winchester is commonly found in bullet weights ranging from 150 grains to 180 grains. The muzzle velocity is normally between 2600 and 2800 feet per second, giving the bullet between 2600 and 2800 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle. However, if lighter or heavier bullets are needed, they can be found from 110 grains to 200 grains with velocities in excess of 3000 feet per second.

Police and military users have found the .308 Winchester a valuable addition to their arsenals, with its’ excellent accuracy and manageable recoil and for its’ versatility as it can be used effectively in urban situations while still offering the capability to engage human sized targets at ranges up to 1000 yards.

The .308 Winchester holds a large following among sport shooters. PALMA competitors currently use the .308 Winchester in their 800 to 1000 yard competitions, for F-Class shooters it is one of two choices to compete with at 1000 yards. The USPSA has a Multi-gun, Heavy Metal class with very specific gun requirements, one of which is that the minimum caliber is .308, one of the most popular choices is the .308 Winchester. This is due in part to the influx of AR-15 style rifles that are chambered in .308 Winchester.

Ammunition development of the .308 Winchester has continued over the years and it is currently one of the key rifle cartridges that ammo companies offer when they introduce a new line of ammunition. Sellier and Bellot offer the .308 Winchester with their Exergy bullet and the Nosler Partition bullet. Federal Premuim Ammuntion offers its Fusion hunting ammunition and the Nosler Ballistic Tip in the .308. Hornady also offers its’ new TAP ammunition for tactical applications, as well as its’ A-MAX Match ammo for precision shooters.

The .308 Winchester has been and will likely remain a popular choice among sport shooters and those who need it for tactical applications. With the extreme accuracy, manageable recoil and variety of ammo, the .308 Winchester shows no sign of flagging popularity.

Discuss 308 Winchester ammunition by adding your comment to the 1 comment below or by asking a new question

Virgil Howell
( Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:27:30 +0000 ) : to me the best all around caliber , I know what the M14 was capable of , as well as my Remington semi auto.

Dogman said: "First round stiff coming off the enblock clip but to be expected.Also shot well in the HK & Mauser.Decent value for target shooting."

r4nd0m said: "Shoots well - cleans up well - haven't had any issues in 500 rounds
The only caveat is that there's some steel in the bullet - I don't think the entire bullet is steel but we were turned away when we went to shoot at a local indoor rifle range - the fella used a magnet to test the bullets
One area where I was surprised was how clean the propellant burns - having listened to some folks talk, I expected to find a mess on the bolt face and in the receiver but that just has not been my experience"

stephen said: "Ordered from ammo net dec 30th arrived in one day superior service an delivery great buy an great ammo for bulk pricing"

JP said: "Bought a case and 2 days later it was delivered. Was disappointed in the shot group from a M1A1, however was pleased when shooting it from an H&K 91. Shot a total of 60 rounds with out any issues of cycling or misfires. As for carbon residue, nothing out of the ordinary. Will order another case for my H&K to kill more golf balls at 100 yards."

Pop-O said: "I felt like I got a good deal and it was a smooth transaction"

Dale said: "I always have these rounds on hand as they are truly one hole accurate from my Remington 700 with 26 inch bull barrel (with Zeiss scope) rifle. As most of you know the military "experts" use the match bullets for very long range work. This is exceptionally good ammo and the price for that is not measurable."

Cleggras said: "Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to shoot any of these rounds, however, these are the flavor that my rifle prefers. They typically group under an inch at 100 yards. They have just been so hard to find in stores in my area and at a price I can afford. Thank you!"

Ralph said: "Federal performed better than the Black Hills Gold Match I purchased for my Springfield M1A and will be purchase again. "

Mac said: "For a lighter cheaper round, this is a great bullet. Penetrated just behind the shoulder and severed the heart in half. The bullet did is job! Have shot all sorts of .308 and found this to be most effective."

playin4keeps said: "Purchased 500 rounds of this ammo. Have fired 30 rounds so far with a total of 4 DUDS. Not a good ratio. Ammo is ok for just messing around and is pretty acurate given what I paid for it. DO NOT use this ammo for self defense or hunting, or any other time when you NEED the round to fire."

quantum13 said: "I've generally had good experience with sellier and bellot ammo. i will go for that over something like american eagle any day. it doesnt foul the gun up too bad and this .308 didnt cause any issues in my brand new SCAR. i would recommend this or PRVI Partizan (serbian ammo) over bottom of the barrel american stuff like blazer, magtech or american eagle. unfortunately it is FMJ so i had to buy some HP as well to make it shootable at some ranges."

Cliff said: "I purchased the Federal .308 American Eagle 150 grain FMJ-BT to shoot in my new FN FAL rifle, and boy was I impressed because I had never tried this ammo before. I was shooting at 50 and100 yards and getting .25" to .50" groupings. Also I had some Remington Cor-Lokt with me and it was noticeable that the Federal American Eagle had more recoil than the Remington. As a final note I shot 10 rounds at 250 yds at a clump of grass the size of a basketball and hit it every time from a hilltop on a powerline. Great ammo. "

anonymous said: "I got a box of this stuff, and from the free container to the packaging to the asthetics of the ammo it looks like this company may be a very promissing ammo provider. I wish they would only add in a few more grains."

D said: "This ammo works quite well in both my .308 semi-autos. It's not overly dirty and you don't run the risk of case fractures that you run with some of the older military surplus ammo. No reloading potential but if you're like me and don't reload but want some reliable plinking ammo this stuff is for you. It's not match grade, it's not reloadable, but it goes bang every time and I've yet to have a FTF/FTE in any of my rifles after around 800 rounds of this stuff. I've run it in 5-6 pistol and rifle calibers so far and had no trouble with any of it. Fair price, fast delivery, I recommend it. Thanks!"